Heat-detecting milk and cream container



Oct. 8, 1929. c. ELLIS HEAT DETECTING MILK AND C REAM CONTAINER FiledJune 27, 1925 XNVENTOR Patented Oct. 8, 1929 UNITED STATES CARLETONELLIS, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR To ELLIS-FOSTER COM- PATENTOFFICIE' PANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY HEAT-DETECTING MILK AND CREAMCONTAINER Application filed June 27, 1925. Serial No. 40,040.

This invention relates to a heat-detecting milk and cream containercomprising a bottle with the mouth and bead or mouth flange thereofcovered with a hood cap of stiff paper crimped against said bead orflange and held in place by an impregnum of a b ndlng composition havingthe property of losing its binding character on exposure to an unduerise in temperature, one which is unsafe for such dair products; wherebythe crimped portion'of saidcap separates from said bead and unfolds orexpands by extension of the crimped portions thereof thereby serving toindicate through such unfolding and spreadising any undue exposure ofsaid dairy prod nets to temperatures inimical to their purity andfavorable to the rapid growth of bacteria. The invention also embraces ahood cap of the character described used for the purpose and with theresult set forth in the foregoing.

- This application is a continuation in part of my copendingapplications, Ser1al Nos.

31,719; 29,258 and 27,997.

In the resent invention the ordinary form of milk ottle or cream bottlemay be 'used and the closure therefor may be the usual round paper discor the disc may be omitted and the hood cap alone be the only closure.

In the latter case a particularly heavy imquired and in some cases thesurface of the cap should be uite heavily coated. TlllS however .depen supon the stiffness and crimping or folding qualities of the paper, aoint which will be discussed later. I

11 good dairy practice milk is kept at a temperature of 50 For lowerduring the bottling and other operations other than pasteurizing. Incareless handllng or through failure ofrefrigerating cars to be properlyiced or through leaving milk on porches exposed to sun during the summermonths or other conditions which need not be described in detail milkmay become heated to a point where bacteria multiply with enormousrapidity and milk becomes unsafe to consume in the raw state. The objectof the present invention is to provide an indicator which will in amanner indicate whether or not the milk has been keptv moderately cool"during I taining its strength and pregnum of the binding agent may bere-' the time it has been handled in the bottled state.

To this end I employ a covering for the bottle mouth in the form of acap which has crimped sides and is more or less in the shape of aramekin. This is impregnated or coated in whole or in part andpreferably only along the skirted or crimped portion thereof with abinding agent having the property of rebinding quality so long as themilk in the bottle is at 50 F. or even somewhat higherb'ut which whenthe bottle is exposed to an undue rise in temperature will soften andexpand or unfold proportion. Preferably I employ a cap which unfoldswhen exposed for a time to a room temperature of say 90 or 95. Thisunfolding usually occurs when the contents of the bottle reach atemperature of about 85. Such unfold occurs rapidly or slowly dependingupon the rate of incrcase of the temperature of the bottle on suchexposure. Thus employing in parts by weight, 5 of rosin or hard rosin, 2of paraffin and 1 of carnauba wax or in the ratio 5: 3: 1, or 5 51,.good results are obtained. A somewhat more resistant' composition ismade in the proportion 1 :1: 1.

Rosin esters likewise may be employedto replace the rosin. Varioussynthetic resins copal and in general the condetermined with respect to.their softening point to obtain the unfolding eifect as a heatdetector.

I do not wish to limit myself to such resinous, waxy mixtures but mayutilize any binding composition appropriate for the purpose applied andavailed of to serve as a temperature detector.

Hard waxes such as'carnauba, montan or shellac wax when softened withparaifin wax and paraffin oil or other softening agent may in some casesbe utilized. I

Ordinarily the container, as stated, has the paper disc closure and thehood cap is simply a cover protecting from dust and serving as atemperature indicator. However by applying a very heavy coating of thebinding agent and particularly by using a softer paper which crimpscloser and knits better together around the flange of the bottle asufficiently tight stopper may be obtained in some cases so that thedisc. closure may be omitted.

Any slight loosening of the cap due to handling and the like which mayoccur, 'for example enabling the cap to be rotated about the flange ofthe bottle while the crimped portion still preserves its general shapeis not intended to serve as a temperature indication; the actualunfolding and expansion of the skirted portion very clearly visibleconstitutes the efiect sought forandobtained in accordance with thepresent invention.

Ordinarily a fairly stiff and springy paper should be used, strongenough to stand rough "handlin in transportation and capable, when thebin er is softened, of springing away from the sides of the bottle orthe mouth flange. The precise weight and springiness of such paperdepends upon the binder chosen and its binding strength.

Another feature in the use of such hood caps is that I have found itimpossible in extremely hot weather, with the contents of the bottle atapproximately room temperature, to crimp the cap around the bottle mouthso that it wi 1 stay in place; the skirt immediately releasing. Thistherefore would serve as an indicator in dairy operations should bottlesof milk or cream be inadvertently allowed to become unduly, warm.

On the other hand with the bottles filled with cold milk the capping wasfound to progress readily in hot weather but when the bottles wereexposed in the shade to, a tem perature of about 95 F. the hood cap soonunfolded and the cap'then appeared like a ramekin inverted over themouth of thebottle, the fluted sides ofsaid ramekin tapering I away fromthe sides of the bottle and spreading to the greatest extent in thelower part (bottlestandingmpright).

On the other and a ca impregnated with carnauba wax and applie in likemanner did not unfold under the same conditions evenbottle illustratedin Figure 1.- Figure 4 shows a view of thebbttom of the cup, aftercrimping, and indicates in a conventional way the irregularities of thecrimped portion. Figure 5 shows the manner in which the hood capsprings'away from the rim of the bottle on exposure to undue heat.

in the drawings A represents a bottle having the disc closure B and hoodcap or cover I O. D indicates the mark of the crimpin tool. E indicatesth'e'binding material capa le of becoming soft at temperatures somewhatabove normal, The flutings of the crimped portion areshown at F. Likereference characters denote like parts inthe several figures. The;drawings indicate the hood cap to be of a relatively symmetricalcharacter but in practice the flutings may be somewhat irregular and theedges or bottom partof the cap may be slightly uneven. In Figure 5 isshown the effect brought-about b the use of a cap of springypaper whichas ,been crimped around the bottle mouth as shown in Figure 3 andsubsequently exposed to undue heat. The extent of the spread orseparation from the walls of the bottle will depend lar ely on thespringy character of the paper, an therefore will vary somewhataccording to a conditions. The foregoing drawings therefore should beregarded --merely as indicative of the results obtained in a general wayand I do not limit myself .to the exact form of depictation but mayembody the invention in other forms or modes within the scope of atemperature index container.)

WhatIclaim-is:

r 1. A heat-indicating milk and cream container comprising a bottle withmouth and bead thereof closed with a hood ca of stiff paper crimpedagainst said bead an held in place by an impregnum of a binding composition having the property of losing its. bindingcharacter on exposure toan undue rise in temperature; whereby the crimped portionof said capseparates from said bead and expands by extension of the crimpedportions folded about the container and held inplace with a bindingcomposition, said cap being 65 after Sta d g for a much longerp'eriod;amade of paper of such strength andstifiness la'o that upon thesoftening of the binder by heat, the cap will unfold.

3. A heat indicating, sealed container comprising a container closedwith a hood cap of stiff paper held in place by a binding compositionwhich retains its strength and binding quality up to approximately 50 F.but which softens sufliciently at higher temperatures to allow thestillness of the paper to displace the latter from the container.

4. A heat indicating, sealed container comprising a container closedwith a hood cap of stiff paper held in place by a binding compositionwhich softens sufiiciently at approximately 90 to 95 F. to allow thestiffness of the paper to displace the latter from the container. 4

5; In a combination of a milk bottle with mouth and bead closed with ahood cap, a

hood cap made of stiff paper carrying a binding composition for holdingthe cap in place on the bottle said composition having the property oflosing its binding character on exposure to a rise in temperatureinimical to 5 milk, whereby the cap separates from the bottle.

6. In a combination of a container and a hood cap for sealing the samefolded about said container and held in place with a bindingcomposition, a hood cap made of paper of such strength and stiffnessthat upon softening of the binding composition by heat, the cap willunfold.

7. In a combination of a container and a hood' cap sealing the same by,means of a binding composition, a hood cap of stifl' paper carrying abinding composition predetermined with respect to its softening point sothat upon undue heating the softening of the 40 binder will allow thestiff paper cap to unfold.

OARLETON ELLIS.

